GENEVA, October 24, 2018 —Geneva-based rights group UN Watch today called on UN expert Michael Lynk to denounce his long-time supporter Dimitri Lascaris, who was condemned for anti-Semitism last month by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as by the leaders of three other Canadian political parties.

UN Watch today also released a video showing Lynk and Lascaris sharing a stage at a Winnipeg, Canada event on September 8, 2018, one day after Lascaris was castigated for targeting Jewish lawmakers with what Prime Minister Trudeau called “vile anti-Semitic smears.”

During the presentation, Lascaris claimed that Hamas is not a terrorist group, and that Hamas rockets fired into Israel amount to “little more than glorified fireworks.”

When Lascaris added that “the Palestinian people have the right to use force to resist,” UN official Lynk took the microphone and said, “I agree with what Dimitri said with respect to the right to resist.”

In recent years, Lascaris has served as a top advocate and surrogate for Lynk and his one-sided mandate, which is to investigate only “Israel’s violations.”

In 2016, when former Canadian foreign minister Stéphane Dion opposed Lynk’s appointment as UN special rapporteur on Palestine, Lascaris came to Lynk’s defense by praising him as “very even-handed” and “very measured.”

Lascaris recently lost a libel suit in Canada concerning his meeting with the father of Palestinian terrorist Bahaa Alayan, after which Lascaris posted via social media that Alayan had been “killed extrajudicially by Israeli authorities.”

UN Watch called on Lynk to distance himself from Lascaris. “The UN was founded 73 years ago today to fight the scourge of racism, and no UN official should be legitimizing notorious anti-Semites like Dimitri Lascaris,” said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer.

“If Lynk refuses to disavow Lascaris and denounce his anti-Semitism, we will request Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to investigate.”

Canadian Leaders Condemned Lascaris’ Anti-Semitism

September 6th, 2018: Dimitri Lascaris posted an anti-Semitic tweet that accused Jewish Canadian lawmakers of dual loyalties. According to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, “Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel […] than to the interests of their own nations” is a textbook example of anti-Semitism.

September 7th, 2018: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau called Lascaris’ tweet a “vile anti-Semitic smear.” Lascaris was also condemned as racist by former Canadian Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler, leader of Canada’s Conservative Party Andrew Scheer, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party Jagmeet Singh and leader of Canada’s Green Party Elizabeth May.

Vile anti-Semitic smears like this are completely unacceptable, and should always be called out. Thank you @LevittMichael and @AHousefather for standing up to this, and for everything you do for your communities and our country. https://t.co/WCGgT55GWP

UN expert Michael Lynk (right) shared a Winnipeg stage with Dimitri Lascaris (left) on September 8th, one day after the radical activist was condemned for “vile anti-Semitic smears” by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Click here for YouTube video.